Teachers Confront Ministry Over School Children at Jaffna Thileepan Statue Unveiling

School children shouldn't be pulled into commemorations for proscribed militant groups. That was the unmistakable message delivered directly to education authorities in Pelawatta.

Representatives from the National Teachers' Union, led by Secretary Sandun Bandara Bodaragama, arrived at the Ministry of Education to submit a formal letter of protest. At issue: the recent unveiling ceremony of the "Thileepan Statue" in Nallur, Jaffna.

The union expressed outrage that school principals and regional officials permitted children to take part in the proceedings. The monument commemorates Thileepan, a former leader of a banned terrorist organization.

Union officials didn't mince words, calling out school heads who sanctioned student attendance at the Jaffna site and urging the Ministry to intervene.

For Bodaragama and the union, school administrators crossed an unacceptable line by involving young pupils in an event tied to a banned terror outfit.